The wine for the evening was a Linden Vineyards 2005 Avenius Chardonnay. It clocked in at 12.8% alcohol by volume and had a real cork closure. This was a gift from a guest at our PS tasting back in December.

On the nose of the wine I found pear, oak, butter, and toast. Or perhaps buttered toast. In the mouth the flavors were entirely of pear and apple. The wine had a slightly oily mouthfeel, and the flavors were smooth.

Overall I thought this was a well done VA white. It was not overpowered by the oak and butter that I found on the nose, but seemed to have just enough oak to give it a full body.

I served the wine with spaghetti carbonara, a recipe I was trying for the first time. I’m not sure if it was the recipe, or if I did something wrong, but it was quite dry. I don’t expect my carbonara to be creamy per se, but this was just dry. I got the recipe from my Silver Spoon cookbook. I don’t think I’ll try that one again, but I will keep looking for a good recipe, carbonara is one of Matt’s favorite dishes.